Corrugated paperboard is typically used in many different applications, for example, to form containers, boxes, cartons, or dividers for holding, storing, stacking or shipping various items, such as reams of paper utilized in copiers and printers.
Typically, such containers have a bottom, four side walls and a removable lid, and are formed from blanks scored with score or cut lines, wherein the container's base and removable lid each are erected from separate blanks. Each blank is most often scored by automated machines in a continuous in-line process involving cutting, scoring and molding continuous sheets of paperboard. The paperboard is then erected by the automated machine along the score lines or cut lines to form a base or the removable lid. Alternatively, the blanks may be erected into a container by a consumer or other manual means. For full assembly of the container, once the lid and base have been erected, the removable lid is placed over the base in a secure yet non-bonded manner.
Frequently, containers are utilized for holding commercial products to be shipped to retail stores and outlets for the sale and display of the products. With a basic container, when the retail establishment wishes to display the products held inside, a user must open the container, remove the products, and place the products on a display tray or stand, a time consuming process. Thus, retail establishments often prefer a shipping container that can be converted into a display tray. This enables a user to display the goods quickly on a shelf without first removing the products from the box, and can create impromptu and self-sufficient display trays where no such means previously existed, saving costs.
With respect to the shipping of reams of office paper, converting a container to a display tray is problematic. Usually, such containers that are designed to convert into a display tray have a single side panel that is scored or perforated. To convert the container, the lid is removed and discarded. The perforated side panel is then torn and removed from the base, displaying the paper inside. However, a perforation along a side wall of the container's base is not an optimal solution. First, the integrity of the container is compromised by scoring the container base, significantly reducing the overall strength of the container. Second, tearing away a single side panel often tears away more of the container than intended, resulting in torn or frayed edges, or a generally unattractive display.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a convertible paperboard shipper display container that does not compromise the strength of the container's base with perforated lines and allows for easy and clean tearing of the paperboard container.